The chipmunk and its story may seem odd appearing in the Decorator’s Corner. Yet I firmly believe that making our homes look lovely and inviting begins in our yards. That is where the first impression of any home becomes ingrained in a person’s psyche. Thus it was, I began the spring project of clearing, cleaning, planting and restoring. Immediately, I found my way hampered by my furry guests.
Looks Can Be Deceiving
Remember those fun cartoons of two little chipmunks that pestered Disney’s Donald Duck? Weren’t they adorable? I thought so too until the day the first chipmunk arrived in my own backyard. So darned cute! Its sleek little body sitting, cheeks puffed out, stuffed with food. The strip down its back that looked nothing like the skunk’s, which so horrifies us. Scampering over the yard, that chipmunk, also known as a ground squirrel, made me chuckle.
A couple of years ago, one of the little creatures stood in the road as we approached by car. Whether frozen in fear or hurt in some way, I had no way of knowing. With my brother’s sweet words in my ear, “You are going to get us killed!” I stopped the car mid-road. Slipping from under the steering wheel, I shooed the little one into the grass. Yes, I loved all creatures and those brown chipmunks brought out my motherly side.
This spring changed all of that.
Our First Meeting
While eating breakfast one day, I chanced to look out the window into our back yard. Scooting across the grass, a brown blur caught my attention. It also caught the attention of my pup, Tucker. He dearly loves to chase all wild things. Whether he would know what to do if one ever turned on him, I have no idea. I shushed him and continued watching the nature show before us. Eventually the blur turned into a chipmunk. Within minutes a squirrel joined in the search for acorns or any food stuffs I might have left out. The chipmunk skittered under the fence and into a neighbor’s yard.
No sooner did it leave than, from another direction, two more dashed into view. These little ones seem to be perpetually running. Perhaps, like the White Rabbit in Alice and Wonderland, they believe themselves always late. Before breakfast ended, there seemed to be a decent-sized family of rodents chasing hither and yon. Then I noticed at one spot in the yard, one of them disappeared underground.
“Won’t it be nice to have little chipmunks around,” I thought to myself.
The Truth ‘Sinks’ In
A day later, the truth of their appearance made itself known. As I hauled lawn furniture off the back porch, after the threat of harsh weather disappeared, I walked to the right of the oak tree. All was well. When I chose to take the route to the left, things truly began going downhill, as I took a step and my foot sank into the ground.
“Hmm, must have been more rain than I thought if the ground is that soggy,” I muttered before continuing to the other side of our paver-laden sitting area.
Two more steps on solid ground and I once again sank into a soft area. This was higher ground, so the sogginess theory did not hold up. Once we relocated all the furniture into the proper areas, I decided to test a budding theory by following the soft spots. As it turned out, I discovered a straight line of soft ground leading to, of all things, a hole in the ground…the chipmunk hole.
Research Is Required
Still unwilling to think badly of the wee beasts, I returned to the house and researched their lives. The truth about these characters is no cartoon. A chipmunk is deadly for its size. Oh, they don’t attack or kill, although their village of holes may well maim. They most certainly are capable of massive, expensive damage to houses, and gardens. Regardless of the bad news, I found it difficult to think ill of a creature with so many cute physical features. That lasted right up until my five-year-old, coddled, waited for blueberry bushes, turned to dead wood as spring burst all else into bloom. Those rotten little mongrels dug under my bushes removing food from the soil or a water supply!
Other items which removed kind feelings were:
- Cleaning squirrel and chipmunk ‘pills’ off the porch,
- Having a large shelf unit turned over,
- Finding the remains of their meals and more pills on the porch bannister .
- My small leaf blower running out of steam trying to keep up with clearing their mess.
As a senior gardener, I liked to think I was not a complete monster, so I researched getting rid of them humanely. I read that if I created a three-foot or wider border of gravel and potted, not planted, foliage inside my grounds, the chipmunks might become discouraged. Another method assured me that good old mothballs, which may be the most beloved item in the South, would shoo them away. Why are mothballs so loved? Supposedly if spread around your property, snakes will not come into your yard. Since the South has more poisonous than non-poisonous varieties, we prefer they stay in the wilds.
Sweet Revenge
Yesterday what began as a humane removal of the chipmunk and its family became the revenge of Maggie! Digging fifteen-pound cement bricks from around the oak tree and lugging them across the yard to begin the border, I finished digging up and moving fourteen of them. When I, very properly bending my knees to lift with them instead of my back, picked up the fifteenth brick, neither the knees nor the back wanted to rise. Hunched over like the fellow from Notre Dame, I staggered across the yard, dropped the brick – onto my right big toe and screamed like a banshee!
With my hunched posture, I rambled at a rapid clip into the house. Looking under the sink for the moth balls posed no problem, since my head was now permanently at about that level anyway. Aha, lavender-scented mothballs! (The lavender does nothing for the horrendous smell.) Sitting on the back steps and bumping my hind end down them, I ambled at a much slower, but just as determined, pace toward Chippy’s hole. The door to the rodent house sat open, with no dirt clogging it as when they are settled for the night. Stuffing two paper-covered mothball packets into the hole, I found a rock to jam in the space, hoping I blocked at least a few inside!
Screaming with power over the little horrors, I crawled back to the steps and up to the top one. There I sat, chuckling gleefully imagining them running for the hills. My neighbors, while working outside, gave me odd looks, but I did not care. Like the hunchback saving his lady, I sat, successful in saving my home and yard.
The Chipmunk Turns the Tables
At that moment, a familiar figure popped up from a freshly-dug hole, and I swear that chipmunk grinned as it nibbled one of the new plants put in only the day before! AAAAAARRRGGGHHHH!
NOTE: My neighbor to the right just informed me we are also blessed with MOLES!
On a more serious note, there are most reputable companies that remove chipmunks and other ‘cute,’ destructive pests in several ways, including very humanely…